LarryG on 2/8/2017 at 09:06
I just took a look at my mission through the eyes of a clean Taffer Patched install, and discovered that the MODS folder installs an NTEX directory which has purported high resolution versions of OM textures. Unfortunately some of the textures included vary significantly from the OM textures. Two that immediately showed up in my mission as just plain wrong are CITY/CRIS07 and CORE_1/ROBBLOC.
CITY/CRIS07 is particularly egregious. It has wood/stucco in places where the original has window glass, and it went from a lit window glass effect to a dark window glass. In effect it totally reinvented CRIS07 rather than being a higher resolution version of it. The one on the left is the replacement, and the one on the right is the OM. They only look vaguely alike.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]2367[/ATTACH]
This seems true for most of the replacements; they only resemble the originals rather than being higher resolution versions of them. If you use a small section only of the OM texture, say the lit window, there is no guarantee that the section you are using is the same in the higher resolution version, totally changing how your mission looks. Double grrrr!!
So, is there any way that a mission author can disable mods when a mission is loaded? I don't want someone else's interpretations of the OM textures screwing up the way my mission looks.
Oh, here is a compare of ROBBLOCK. As you can see, they are virtually identical, right? :p
[ATTACH=CONFIG]2368[/ATTACH]
R Soul on 2/8/2017 at 11:04
I think the only way to guarantee a desired look is to include any texture whose appearance is very important. I think EP2 is the best source because the vast majority of the resources are respectful of the original content.
The other thing (and good luck with this) is to put something in the readme suggesting certain mods be disabled.
ZylonBane on 2/8/2017 at 14:19
What you can do is lobby the TafferPatcher maintainer to remove or replace any inaccurate textures that it includes.
For some reason I thought nobody used NTEX anymore, that it had been superceded by a better terrain texture project.
voodoo47 on 2/8/2017 at 15:23
yeah, NTEX is a better than nothing kind of deal from times when EP2 didn't exist yet - I did suggest kicking it if memory serves (and a few other fixes as well) to DJ Riff via pm, but never received a reply.
LarryG on 2/8/2017 at 15:26
Worse than nothing, IMHO.
Also, when you are up at the limit of resources already, adding in even EP2 or some of the water or sky mods can cause crashes. It does that for me.
So no way of shutting it off from my side? The best I can do is warn folk in the readme, hope that they read it and shut stuff off? Sigh.
voodoo47 on 2/8/2017 at 15:49
unless you'll make a custom patcher that will kill the NTEX folder or replace the mod_path in cam_mod.ini, no. hmm.. I think including a custom/no NTEX cam_mod.ini with the FM would override the one in the game root, but that would be a very evil fight-fire-with-fire thing to do. //nope, doesn't work.
nicked on 2/8/2017 at 17:13
If you're using stock textures, you could just make renamed copies of the textures you're using, and package them with it instead. Not like it'll bump the filesize up much if it's the original pcx files.
voodoo47 on 2/8/2017 at 17:48
that will work, but it would break any proper hd texture pack, should the user attempt to load it - again, it's fighting fire with fire.
making a note in the FM readme and pestering DJ Riff about kicking NTEX out of the patcher are the best options.
LarryG on 2/8/2017 at 20:12
Quote Posted by nicked
If you're using stock textures, you could just make renamed copies of the textures you're using, and package them with it instead. Not like it'll bump the filesize up much if it's the original pcx files.
Yeah. That's what R Soul suggested and I was planning on doing if no better option presented itself.
Quote Posted by voodoo47
that will work, but it would break any proper hd texture pack, should the user attempt to load it - again, it's fighting fire with fire.
Not really. It will guarantee that the look I want for my mission is preserved. I honestly think that mods should only apply to the OMs. That's where they are tested (if they are tested). If a mission author wants high resolution textures, then the mission author should include them. Otherwise the artistic integrity is compromised.
GORT on 2/8/2017 at 20:54
I agree with you on the mods. Take one of my FMs "The Unknown Treasure" for example. Using a texture mod on it will result in some texture scaling issues. Also, I'm pretty sure that some of the material effects will get compromised. (ex: fake reflections, light grit, etc.)
